“I was always a keen observer, a keen watcher of football,” says Mile Jedinak when asked about how he first got into the beautiful game growing up in the sun-soaked suburbs of Sydney. “I’d go and watch Sydney United on a Sunday with my family, go and support them. There was a lot of rugby league where I grew up but never once did it cross my mind to play. I’d never have been allowed anyway. My parents wouldn’t have enjoyed that too much.”

When Jedinak wasn’t watching United – a club which, like Jedinak himself, has strong ties to the Croatian Australian community in Sydney – he was following a Socceroos side which was far less present on the international stage than it is today. Born in 1984, the future Australia captain would not see the national team qualify for the World Cup until the arrival of the team dubbed the ‘Golden Generation’ at Germany 2006.

While an iconic Socceroos outfit spearheaded by Tim Cahill, Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell reached the Round of 16 only to lose 1-0 to eventual champions Italy, Jedinak was still a 22-year-old prospect and a long way from international contention. He was on the verge of winning the New South Wales Premier League with United, an achievement which would earn him a step up to the A-League with the Central Coast Mariners and kickstart his career.

Now 33, Jedinak is about to captain the Socceroos on their fourth consecutive trip to the World Cup finals. Having only ever qualified for the 1974 edition of the tournament prior to their run to the knockouts in 2006, Australia have now established themselves as World Cup regulars. Russia 2018 will be Jedinak’s third taste of the competition and, all going well, the hawkish midfielder will be able to say that he has featured in more than half of the Socceroos’ World Cup adventures to date.

World Cup veteran

Jedinak has good and bad memories of the World Cup, having been used sparingly at South Africa 2010 and been handed a chastening group-stage exit at Brazil 2014. At the last World Cup, Australia suffered three defeats to Chile, the Netherlands and Spain in a merciless group from which the reigning champions also failed to progress. Jedinak still takes pride in the way the Socceroos handled those losses, dusting themselves down and fighting on regardless.

“It was definitely a tough group in 2014, not that we’d use that as an excuse,” he tells the i. “We showed a lot of character in those performances, we really pushed some top teams, but at the end of the day we didn’t get the results we were after.”

Jedinak attempts to tackle Andres Iniesta at the 2014 World Cup (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)

To an outsider, it’s hard to imagine how a footballer copes with going through two years of qualifiers only to end up winless at the World Cup. “It can be [difficult to handle], depending on who you are and what you want to take out of it as an individual,” says Jedinak. “You try to learn from those defeats and use them going forward. You’ve got to take it as experience, use it as motivation and hope you get an opportunity at another time to rectify and correct it.”

In Russia, the Socceroos face a more navigable group stage on paper having been pitted against France, Denmark and Peru. Though they are the lowest ranked team in the group, Australia are more than capable of overachieving and finishing in the top two. “We’re under no illusions about the challenges there, that’s for sure, but we have to take our direction from the qualifying campaign,” says Jedinak. “Especially from our last couple of games, we’ve got to use that momentum.”

Box-office qualifiers

Australia’s last couple of games came in the form of a play-off double-header against Honduras, the dramatic denouement to an incredible set of qualifiers for the Socceroos. After finishing third in their original qualifying group behind Japan and Saudi Arabia, Australia first had to contest a two-legged play-off against the Syrian national team. With much of the media casting Syrian participation in the World Cup as a chance to unify a country in the midst of civil war – a naive view of the situation, if well intended – Australia came up against a team riding high on a wave of goodwill.

Having drawn the first leg 1-1 and conceded after only six minutes in the second, the Socceroos looked to be in serious danger of losing to their Syrian counterparts. Jedinak watched the game on a stream at home in England, presumably peeking out from behind his hands. “I’m not the greatest at watching like that when it’s my team involved,” he says wryly. “I was quite stressed during that second game. I had faith that the boys would get the job done but it was tense, always tense.”

Two goals from Tim Cahill in the second leg were enough to save the tie for Australia, before they went on to their inter-confederation play-off against a notoriously snappish Honduran side. Those qualifiers came with their own problems, though Jedinak could at least affect things directly this time. “It was quite unique in where we had to travel, how long we had to travel and the rest of it,” says Jedinak. The flight back from Honduras, via Honolulu, took over 19 hours.

After a goalless first leg in San Pedro Sula, Jedinak was hailed as a hero after scoring a hat-trick to send Australia through in Sydney. “It was a special night, very special, and something I think that the group can reflect on and be proud of,” says Jedinak, whose goals secured the Socceroos’ place at the World Cup in front of 77,000 fans in his hometown.

Jedinak and co. show their relief after overcoming Honduras (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

New coach, new Socceroos?

Only a week after that special night in Sydney came the news that Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou was resigning, this after sustained pressure and speculation over the course of Australia’s nail-biting qualifying campaign. Postecoglou had coached the side for four years and his departure sent waves through the Socceroos set up. “There was obviously some initial surprise when it happened,” Jedinak says when asked whether Postecoglou’s resignation came as a shock to the players. “As individuals and as a collective, he helped us get through a tough campaign. The belief that he instilled in the group, that’s a lasting imprint that will always be around.”

Nonetheless, Jedinak seems philosophical about the idea of changing coach ahead of the World Cup. “These decisions get made, you can’t always understand them I guess, but everyone’s sure Ange had his reasons,” he says. “Knowing the sort of person that Ange is, you have to respect that. Then it’s about the process of moving on and moving forwards. I don’t think that will phase this group at all.”

It has now been announced that Bert van Marwijk will take over as head coach for the tournament, with the Dutchman having previously led the Netherlands to the final of the 2010 World Cup. Having done so much to help the Socceroos reach the competition, Jedinak seems interested to see what Van Marwijk can bring to the party.

“It’s great to work with the big managers and the ones that bring experience with them. For us, going to the World Cup with a coach who’s actually managed there and taken a team right to the final, that’s going to be invaluable.” Socceroos fans will certainly hope so.

We know that sometimes it’s easier for us to come to you with the news. That's why our new email newsletter will deliver a mobile-friendly snapshot of inews.co.uk to your inbox every morning, from Monday to Saturday.

This will feature the stories you need to know, as well as a curated selection of the best reads from across the site. Of course, you can easily opt out at any time, but we're confident that you won't.

Oliver Duff, Editor

By entering your email address and clicking on the sign up button below, you are agreeing to receive the latest daily news, news features and service updates from the i via email. You can unsubscribe at any time and we will not pass on your information.